The Taoist ancestor is Cthulhu

To be free from desires is to observe its mysteries, to always have desires is to observe its boundaries.

Mo Zhu Mountain,

spanning three thousand miles, with its two mountains and Fourteen Peaks, fierce beasts roam, toxic miasmas densely cover the land, and human habitation is scarce.

In this realm of overlapping ridges and perilous peaks, amidst the ink-black forests and bamboo seas, a flat land of one mu square was carved out by human hands.

In the center of the flat land, a grass structure was built, an altar was erected, and an idol with eight arms and six heads, whose appearance was unlike that of a human, was established as the Demon Sovereign's image.

At each side of the altar, there were seven rows and seven columns of cushions arranged, totaling to forty-nine, scattered like stars in the sky.

At this time in front of the altar, only an old Daoist with a dark hood and robe was cradling a three-foot-seven-inch Vermilion Wooden Sword, a green bamboo leaf held between his lips. He hung his head down, dozing off intermittently.

Just as he was sleeping peacefully, from the depths of the dark forest, there came a ding ding dang dang sound, three tolls of a metal chime, and two strikes of a bell.

The old Daoist sniffed his nose, lifted his head, and flicked his fingers as if playing strings in the wind.

Consequently, the bamboo forest rustled, and soon, figures emerged, a group of visitors walking out from between the bamboos.

Leading them were three Daoist priests in dark robes and blue crowns, with silk veils covering their faces. The priest in the center had a three-foot-three-inch copper coin sword tied to his back, slung over his shoulder with a red cord. The two beside him each held a golden bell and silver chime and followed along.

Behind them trailed twenty-one children, the oldest no more than thirteen or fourteen, the youngest around four or five. Some dressed in brocade with jade adornments, others in hemp garments and short fur coats, all of them merely following the sound of the bell in confusion.

"Master," the three veiled priests saluted in unison.

The old Daoist puckered his lips and pointed with the bamboo leaf at the children.

Thereupon, the priest holding the bronze sword spoke, "Some time ago, the Jade Toad Granny from Yaoguang Cave paid the sect a visit and lost a game of chess with the Sect Leader, throwing a tantrum and devouring many children. So, we were ordered to go into the world of mortals to select another batch of untouched children of pure Yang, to see if you could give them a glimpse, Master."

The one holding the golden bell added with a smile, "Those lacking spiritual roots can be sent to the outer sect to labor, those born with Daoist hearts can be taken as inner disciples to serve, and for those who secretly harbor demonic wombs, hehe, they can be sent to accompany the Sect Leader's drinks."

The old Daoist snorted through his nose and curled his lips in what seemed like assent.

The three priests bowed once more and led the children to their places, each assigned a cushion. After arranging them properly, they respectfully exited the forest to wait.

The old Daoist looked over the children sitting or lying on their cushions, spat the bamboo leaf out of his mouth, stood up, and took the Vermilion Wooden Sword in hand. He walked past each of the children, drawing twenty-one circles around their cushions, before he went back to sit in his spot, the difference now being that he faced the opposite direction—not towards the bamboo forest but towards the demon idol, cradling the sword and zoning out.

Thus the forest was engulfed in silence, and the twenty-one children, neither crying nor fussing, sat on their cushions as motionless as wooden figures.

After sitting for approximately two hours, one child could no longer maintain his composure. He stealthily turned his head to peek at the back of the old Daoist, then covertly glanced back at Mo Zhu Forest, showing a face full of conflict.

Then, without turning his head, the old Daoist spoke as if to himself.

"You'll sit here overnight, and if you sleep through it, nothing will happen. If you can't sleep and no matter what you hear or see at night, as long as you don't step out of the circle, your life will be safe."

The child jumped in fright and hurriedly withdrew his neck to feign ignorance, realizing that his little tricks were all seen through by the man, and couldn't help but mentally lament.

What the hell is this situation?

Exactly what — what in the world is this!?

Nuclear fusion was nearing commercialization, space elevators were being scheduled, I was even dreaming of vacationing in lunar cities, and now you've arranged for me to transmigrate? Heaven, this is utterly unscientific!

That's right, among these twenty-one people, one plain-looking child was a transmigrator.

Li Fan, completely average worker, utterly ordinary, as plain as they come; even his transmigration trope was, "Ah! I woke up and I've transmigrated!" That kind of thing...

Sigh... If it were an ordinary world, Li Fan might still be able to make some reinventions or create new ones—like glass, soap, papermaking, tanks, Zaku, Star Destroyers, and so on. But no, this had to be a cultivation world in the style of Xianxia fantasy.

All Li Fan remembered was opening his eyes, not yet clear on the current dynasty or era, and then in the blink of an eye, he was whisked away into this deep mountain wilderness by those three masked guys, without knowing if they were immortals or demons!

Teleportation, can you believe it! Spatial transportation, can you believe it! Is this some kind of fantasy? I'm freaking out!

And that old Daoist over there, with his hidden boss, monk-sweeping-the-floor vibes, didn't seem like some demon or evil spirit, but it looked like there was no escape now...

Then let's manifest the spirit of a laborer, accept what can't be changed, and lie low.

So Li Fan slumped over on his cushion, stretching his numb legs, and thought it through. As any transmigrator would, he tried his luck in his mind.

System?

And then the system appeared.

'Welcome to the Transmigrator's Mental Health Support System'

Well, at least that's some... what??

Mental health? Mental health is essential... but seriously!

No! What on earth is a Mental Health Support System?

Quest stream? Leveling stream? Points enhancement? Summon lottery? Check-in? Auto-pilot?

'Please select your innate luck.'

Oh, good, I was scared for a moment, Li Fan wiped his cold sweat. Innate luck, that sounds just like Xianxia lingo, I knew it, it's not trendy for systems to mess with their hosts anymore...